The Dance
by Breakmypride21
Summary: (Oneshot) Alice's initiation into the Serpents. FP can't tear his eyes away.


The Dance

"I can't believe I have to do this."

Alice Smith was sitting on a bar stool in the White Wyrm with her head in her hands.

FP Jones was sitting next to her with a bruised eye and a split lip.

"Hey, I just ran the gauntlet. This will be a piece of cake compared to that."

She spun around to face him with malice in her eyes.

"Really Forsythe? So if I told you to go up on stage in front of the people you've known for most of your life and strip naked to a cheesy stripper song, you'd be okay with that?"

He smirked "Depends, how much will you pay me?"

She turned away from him again "This isn't a joke Forsythe."

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry. It's a misogynistic tradition that should be banned. And stop calling me Forsythe, it's FP."

"I don't understand why girls can't just run the gauntlet."

"Because no one would want to hit a girl."

She spun around to him again, every bit as vicious as the last time.

"You don't think I could take it, Jones?"

"Okay Ali, calm down. That's not what I said."

He put his hand on her shoulder and looked her in the eyes.

"You're going to be great, okay? It will be over in no time and then you can erase the scarring memory from your mind."

"Everyone else will remember it though."

She looked around and lowered her voice.

"There's men in here that might enjoy it a little too much."

FP looked around to survey the crowd. There were certainly a lot of men forty and over ready to watch the initiation. Most of them were harmless and loved Alice like a daughter but there were a few whose gaze always lingered on her a little too long.

"Just forget that they're there. I'll be in the crowd to make sure no one says anything inappropriate or tries anything afterwards."

She looked away from him.

"That doesn't help at all, but thanks anyway."

She stood up and started walking towards the stage. FP did the same and went to lean against the pool table, which gave him a direct view of the stage.

He hadn't intended on staying for the dance, but Alice had asked him earlier if he would stay for 'moral support.' While it was going to be awkward for him to see his best friend stripping, he really couldn't say no.

Alice made her way up the steps and onto the stage. People started whooping and cheering, this was an important occasion: a new serpent being welcomed into the fold.

The music started, it wasn't very tasteful. Some kind of typical sultry stripping song. Alice cringed the second she heard it. Wardog whispered something to his friend about being excited 'in more than one way' for the dance. FP was about to call him out on the fact that he was talking about a 17 year old girl but Hogeye beat him to it and slapped the back of his head.

"Keep your vile thoughts to yourself, perv."

Alice took a shaky breath and began to unbutton her blouse slowly. She made eye contact with FP and he gave her a nod of encouragement.

To her credit, she didn't even flinch when someone shouted at her to hurry up. All she did was smile in their direction and flipped them off. That sent the whole bar into fits of laughter.

With newfound confidence, Alice discarded her blouse and pulled down her skirt. The room was silent again, apart from the steady beat flooding from the speaker.

Alice wasn't fazed by the staring now, she was focused on her task. She gripped the pole and began to slide around it. It came naturally to her, by the looks of it.

She expertly navigated her way around the pole, capturing the essence of a serpent perfectly. Her body writhed and bended in a careful yet courageous way, using simple moves with magnificent effect.

FP, noticing all of this, found it hard to tear his eyes away from her. He was stuck in a trance, fixated on the girl in front of him who he had known all his life. Who he had played with, fought with, even lived with at one stage after his father had kicked him out. Alice Smith was his rock, they'd been through rough times together and they'd decided to join the serpents at the same time.

So why did she seem like a new person up there? He wasn't blind, he knew how gorgeous she was. People often asked him if they were going out and when they got the negative response they looked at him as if to say 'why the hell not?' But he never really thought about her in that way.

Now, watching her move like that, he was thinking a whole pile of different thoughts, thoughts that made him sick with guilt. He wanted nothing more than for the dance to be finished, but she had to see the song out.

Tallboy regarded FP with curiosity, he could tell that there was something bothering him. He noticed also how his eyes were glued to Smith. He chuckled, it was about goddamn time those two realised that they were idiots in love. Penny was going to be crushed though, she had had a thing for FP since she was five years old.

Tallboy was trying to say something to FP but he couldn't hear him, he couldn't hear anything. There was a ringing in his ears and his heart felt like it was on fire. He didn't know what was happening to him.

He made an excuse to Tall Boy and sprinted outside to get some air. The last thing he needed was to faint in front of a whole bar of serpents. He put his head on the wall of the bar and watched as the traffic zoomed by. It soothed him and suddenly the pain in his chest was gone. What the hell just happened?

His thoughts were interrupted by a now clothed Alice Smith, who was walking towards him.

"There's my knight in shining armour, hiding outside."

"Sorry, it got really stuffy in there. Besides, you were doing great."

"Yeah it actually wasn't so bad. I think I hyped it up in my head a lot, you know?"

FP nodded, not trusting himself to speak. He thought that he would stop feeling the attraction when the dance ended, that he would get his normal affection for Alice back. He had been wrong.

He slid down the wall and sat on the ground. Alice did the same and sat beside him.

FP took out a pack of cigarettes and offered her one. She accepted and they both lit up. They sat there for a while in a comfortable silence, both realising that things had changed.

"I can't believe we're both serpents" Alice muttered.

"Still have to get tattoos."

"Yeah but technically we're in."

"I guess so."

"You could be a little more enthused, Forsythe."

FP shrugged and stubbed out his cigarette.

"People are going to treat us differently now Ali, like we're the enemy."

"What? You mean those stuck up Northsiders? I don't care what they think of me."

She followed suit and stubbed out her own cigarette.

"You might, one day."

"Yeah when Hell freezes over."

They sat in silence again, looking out above the traffic, staring up at the stars that were smiling down at them from the coal black sky. Alice rested her head on FP's shoulder, but her eyes remained on the stars.

"You need to promise me something FP."

"I'm sorry did you just call me FP?"

"Well I think I owe it to you, you're a big boy now."

"Thanks…..Alice."

"Alice sounds so grown up wow."

"Well no one can deny that you're all grown up after that dance."

"Anyway, I need you to promise me that come what may with the serpents, we can't let it mess up our friendship."

FP swallowed hard. The serpents wouldn't be the problem, it would be his own damn feelings.

"Alice, nothing's going to change, okay? We won't let it."

"I still need you to promise me."

"What are we, five?"

She tore her eyes away from the sky to glare at him.

"Okay fine, I promise to you, Alice Smith, that nothing will ever get in the way of our friendship."

She settled her head back onto his shoulder and smiled.

They sat there for another hour, barley speaking. People came in and out of the bar but they didn't notice them. The serpents' newest members were in their own world, stargazing, thinking about what the future had in store for them.

And as coincidence would have it the two of them ended up thinking about the exact same thing: how they were in love with the person next to them.

And how they could never admit it, not just to each other, but to themselves.


End file.
